Though many people toss coffee cups in the Blue Bin, the sad truth is that take out coffee cups are just not recyclable in Toronto's blue bins. That means far too many cups are sent to Toronto's landfill each year.

So what can Toronto do?

First - we can all carry a refillable mug, or have our coffee at the cafe. But, when it comes to coffee on the run, the good news is that the City of Toronto is studying the problem and doing some pilot tests this summer.

The Repair Cafe is a great non-profit group that is helping Toronto reduce waste and build the skills to go Waste Free!

The monthly Repair Cafes are held across Toronto and volunteer 'fixers' offer free (by donation) services to help you repair what you have, and also build skills to repair it yourself! They aim to "build a more sustainable society and counter the throwaway mindset."

Got an old shirt with missing buttons? A favourite bag with a torn handle? Don't toss it out - repair it!

This Saturday morning at the Evergreen Brickworks farmers market, check out the Repairathon: Volunteer-menders will help you repair your clothing and fabrics - keeping it from landfill and saving money.

Swapsity is a community dedicated to promoting 'collaborative consumption' and reducing waste by swapping and sharing what you don't need anymore with someone else. In three years, Swapsity has organized over 27 swap events, saving over 30,000 items from landfill and saving Torontonians an estimated $200,000!

The best way to reduce waste is to avoid it in the first place. By sharing things, swapping what we don't need anymore, and repairing what we have we can avoid buying 'stuff' and build community at the same time.

Toronto hosts a whole range of great community initiatives to share, swap and repair!

The City of Toronto sends almost 500,000 tonnes of garbage to the Green Lane landfill each year - just under half of all of the waste collected in the city. If Toronto continues at this rate, Toronto's Green Lane landfill will be full by 2026.

This summer, the City is looking at what to do over the next 30-50 years with Toronto's growing garbage and a key issue is whether to bury garbage in a new landfill, or to burn it in an incinerator. However, based on City waste statistics, we know that a lot more can be done to reduce, reuse and recycle it in the first place.

TEA’s Waste Free challenge is a project of the Toronto Environmental Alliance. The project is funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario. The challenge is sponsored by CUPE Local 416, the union representing Toronto City workers who collect, sort, recycle and compost Toronto's residential waste.